Between Resistance and Revolution: Cultural Politics and Social Protest

TLDR

The book surveys diverse social protests—from Indian peasants defending trees to Brazilian feminists opposing a president and Okinawan comedians satirizing ethnicity—showing how these mid‑between acts of resistance and revolution have been overlooked by scholars and introducing contributors from multiple disciplines. The authors aim to demonstrate that studying dissent and direct action across countries such as Australia, Brazil, Germany, Colombia, India, Korea, Peru, and the United States reveals the importance of examining the mid‑points of mobilization beyond traditional protest extremes. The study uses comparative analysis of dissent and direct action in those countries to illustrate the significance of mid‑way mobilization.

Abstract

Peasants India hugging trees to protest logging, Brazilian feminists marching to impeach a president, Okinawan television comedians joke-starting ethnic activity. All are instances of social protest that exist the charged territory the cataclysmic upheaval of revolutionary war and the everyday acts of private resistance. Yet these movements in between resistance and revolution have remained invisible to scholars of politics, culture, and society. Leading scholars anthropology, political science, history, sociology, and ethnomusicology examine dissent and direct action Australia, Brazil, Germany, Colombia, India, Korea, Peru, and the United States and demonstrate the importance of looking beyond these poles of protest to the midways of mobilization. The contributors are Nancy Abelmann, Sonia Alvarez, Arturo Escobar, Richard Fox, Faye Ginsburg, Ramachandra Guha, Ingrid Monson, Yoshinobu Ota, Orin Starn, and Nathan Stoltzfus.